Diet/Exercise/Health/Wellness Support Thread

Parent Cafe
28221

<p>Thanks, idad! Appreciate your perspective. I really believe in doing this stuff the right way – slow and steady winning the race, and doing this for life. I am one of the classic gym-dropouts (I blame the phys ed teachers of my youth, for their emphasis on team sports and competition) so it’s really important to me to finally crack the code in integrating exercise into my life in general. </p>

<p>Tomorrow I’m debating either running or a spinning class, and then my mother and I are walking along the Chicago lakefront for a few miles to the art museum. I will take the strength training comments to heart, though.</p>

28222

<p>Pizza girl, Sounds like you are doing at least a few hours of exercise a day - that is REALLY a lot! That maybe why you have lost so much so fast - but can you keep that up??? Realistically , setting up a routine that you can adhere to more as a lifestyle will still net you some weight loss - not as fast maybe , but for better weight loss sustainability.</p>

28223

<p>Big gold star to pizzagirl, though. Losing 19 pounds is a major accomplishment. Heck for most of us, losing five pounds is a big deal! I think the most important message is patience.</p>

<p>Part of that is probably a mix of exercise intensities. So the walk on a nice summer day along the Chicago waterfront is just as important as a sweaty/panting cardio blast.</p>

28224

<p>Rest day for me. Made my way into The Rack which resulted in a bright new pair of running shorts. :)</p>

28225

<p><a href=“http://www.answerfitness.com/150/full-body-workout-plan-workout-routines/[/url]”>http://www.answerfitness.com/150/full-body-workout-plan-workout-routines/&lt;/a&gt;. </p>

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>Read through this article and try out this full body workout. In about 3 weeks I have been the most fit thoughout my entire life.</p>

28226

<p>bobby:</p>

<p>I like the ten rules better than the actual exercises. In a whole-body workout, I’m not sure the old-school bodybuilder approach of doing biceps and triceps isolation exercises is the most effective use of time. I like sticking with the major big-muscle exercises. Also, pairing an upper body and lower body exercise in a super-set cuts the required rest between sets since you are resting the upper body while doing squats and resting the lower body while doing bench press (to a degree). So the workout can move along a little more briskly than doing three consecutive sets of one exercise with enough rest in between.</p>

<p>Some people take this concept even further and use core or mobility/stretching as “active rest” between sets. Personally, I struggle with that. I need rest rest between sets!</p>

28227

<p>Abasket - when I post those “super days” (like yesterday with yoga, pilates, circuit and couch to 5k) that’s what I try to do on the weekend. During the week, though, I maybe do 1-1.5 hours and just try to get 11,000 steps. I have a desk job and am naturally sedentary. You’re all right, though, that I need to move to a mindset that I can’t keep losing 1.5-2 pounds a week as I get closer to goal. I know that intellectually, just not emotionally! IDad, thanks for the review.</p>

28228

<p>Ok, got it - that’s good to hear Pizzagirl! I was worried you were going to melt away! </p>

<p>You must have really good energy though and that’s a good thing. </p>

<p>Last night at the wedding we were at ( the cake was divine! ) my SIL was talking to my H about the weight he has lost. His family has always yo-yo’ed, fad dieted, etc. SIL keep acting like Weight Watchers would require a whole new way of cooking, creating recipes, etc that would be just to hard to do. I kept telling her - that part is easy- leaner meat, fruits, vegetables and plan for you indulgences - it can be done!!! Meanwhile she was clueless why she lost weight on a diet pill but gained it all back when she stopped taking the pill (rolling eyes). </p>

<p>Someone on the Weight Loss For Dummies said this and I’m going to use it as a mantra when people are talking about dieting, exercise , etc. " Eating better is hard. Exercising is hard. Being fat is hard. Choose your hard".</p>

28229

<p>1 mile yesterday and a ton of strength exercises. I am a bit sore in the upper body this morning. The knee issues have gone down considerably in that it doesn’t hurt to walk. I will keep the running light for another few days. This is almost working out like how I feel after playing tennis though the recovery is a bit longer. I had one case of this in my 30s when I was out for six weeks. No running, no tennis, no stepper. I used a crutch from time to time. That was pretty hard and I gained weight because I didn’t dial back the calories.</p>

<p>I found a great cereal yesterday. No sugar, 20% carbs and lots of fiber. The main downside is that it is $21 per pound. I can buy the ingredients for $3 per pound.</p>

<p>I noticed more definition in my daughter’s arms yesterday and asked her if she was doing weights and she said yes. We were looking at some jobs that require physical strength and I gave her some parameters for what she would need to be able to do. She likes to workout in private so no one is ever going to see her workout but she has lots of stuff in the basement available.</p>

28230

<p>I love reading about everyone making a serious investment in themselves and their health. </p>

<p>PG it’s only natural to want to see your weight loss continue at at the 1.5- 2 lb rate. For me that meant I would have had to maintain around a 800-900 calorie per day budget. Couldn’t do it. I have a sedentary job during the week and other than sabadog, wasn’t getting a lot of exercise before January - let’s just say I really slacked off in the maintenance department. The exercise has really made a difference in weight loss - now it’s a habit. I need to make myself do the strength training at least twice a week in a serious way. </p>

<p>BCE, good for your D. We went to my favorite running store yesterday and D purchased a nice pair of Sauconys to keep going with the C25K. She got a nice discount on them - wouldn’t see that happening at a big box, that’s for sure!</p>

28231

<p>The young Ironman dropped out of Eagleman10 miles into the bike. I suspected this might happen. He said it just wasn’t his day. He’s training so hard and he’s worn down, and he wasn’t up for this at all. Oh well.
I got a 4 1/2 mile run in between thunder storms. H is out on his bike somewhere NOT between thunder storms, so I hope he is OK.</p>

28232

<p>~ 3 1/3 mi rolling hills run. Lots of runners out lately.</p>

28233

<p>abasket:</p>

<p>It’s a real catch-22 for someone trying to diet (or quit smoking). The only real answer must involve permanent lifestyle changes. But, the thought of permanent lifestyle changes is so scary, threatening, overwhelming that it serves as a massive barrier to getting started in the first place. A nicotine addict has to focus on not smoking for just one hour. And, then sign up for a second hour. And so forth. Thinking about not smoking for whole day or a whole week or a whole lifetime is the worst thing to do.</p>

<p>Same thing with dieting. It’s just overwhelming to think that you’ll never eat Doritos again… That’s the whole logic behind my little 5-lb game. I could deal with not buying red twizzlers just until I lost five pounds.</p>

<p>Fortunately, along the way, my little short-term changes morphed into permanent lifestyle changes. I no longer stand in the aisle of the grocery and longingly caress a package of Pringles while I read the nutrition label and resist the temptation. That transition is the key to long-term maintenance I guess, but the time for it is not in the beginning!</p>

28234

<p>

</p>

<p>I don’t cook at all. There’s nothing I can’t buy that I can’t get prepared simply. Fruits, vegetables as is. Some cheese, yogurt and skim milk. I can buy pre-cooked chicken strips to throw on top of salad. Seriously, I go for days without touching any appliance other than the microwave.</p>

28235

<p>Okay, report on aquajogging finally, for bkankmind:</p>

<p>First day out was yesterday before company came. First mistake was thinking I could do so while the pool robot was cleaning the pool.
Ended up tangled up in the 'bot cord more than a few times. Kept it interesting though (jog jog jog, oh no here comes the 'bot, jog, paddle, jog,duck…h comes out because the phone’s for me and sez what the hell are you doing?)</p>

<p>Apparently I should have watched the video first, because I was trying to use the hand dumbell floats while still getting used to keeping body aligned upright with ankle floats and belt while running normally, at at first perhaps resembled someone having an epileptic seizure. The image was exacerbated by the fact I chose to do my inaugural “run” naked, so h was overall amused and commented that the belt put him in mind of the WW Wrestling federation.</p>

<p>Once I got my stride in order and no longer looked like I was doing the egg beater, things settled down. Today I figured out how to work with the and weights and keep it all together but think. Will get the webbed gloves for the running part and save the weights to do separate water resistance strength moves like the fly, etc.</p>

<p>Overall, I enjoyed it a lot, though I don’t know that it was anywhere near the exertion I get on land – didn’t really feel like it, but my little bits of running and bigger bits of walking are always on an incline, so I don’t really know what flat running feels like. I will treat it as a fun supplement but will not replace any of my land work – but this was always my intent.</p>

<p>I certainly could feel the resistance in my arms if I used the large “heavy resistance” dumbells underwater, but again, it wasn’t anything like a kettle bell clean, so I’m not counting on it for true weight resistance work (which I’ve historically been a bit old school about, in that when I do weights I’m fond of doing them to the point where I can feel the lactic burn – in other words, near muscle exhaustion.) I suspect, though, overall, it may add a nice bit of toning if you’d be inclined to fool around in the pool anyway.</p>

<p>Maybe I’m easy to entertain, but I was not bored at all. I don’t, however, recommend dancing with the pool robot ;)</p>

<p>Ps here’s a link about aquajogging from a more experiences/running perspective:
<a href=“http://runnersconnect.net/running-injury-prevention/deep-water-running-for-cross-training/[/url]”>http://runnersconnect.net/running-injury-prevention/deep-water-running-for-cross-training/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

28236

<p>We definitely need pictures…</p>

28237

<p>My weekly 5K walk/jog around the hilly neighborhood. Glad I wasn’t doing any kind of serious intevals because the heart rate monitor was acting looney, telling me my heart rate was at 90% before I was even breathing hard. Nice sunny day. Good and sweaty.</p>

<p>I’ll never be a runner, but I think these little weekly outings are a worthwhile part of my fitness options.</p>

28238

<p>Calorie burning day to compensate for the Mexican meal with tortilla chips last night. 2 mile walk. 17 mile bike ride. Hour of core/stretch/strength. 30 minutes weights. 20 minutes of aqua running. Tiredness is starting to creep in. Don’t know if I’ll make Mad Men tonight.</p>

28239

<p>Aqua jogging sounds fun in an outdoor pool - my favorite way to swim!</p>

<p>Pizza, that’s what I told SIL - pick a meat, put it on the grill, pick a couple of veggies and good to go. I don’t make much of anything that takes more than 30 mins - especially his time of year. Her type of cooking means pick the meat, mash the potatoes, make the gravy, put a loaf of bread on the table and have dessert ready and waiting. Sounds good every once in a while, but a lean meal it does not make!</p>

28240

<p>pizzagirl- you make me feel better. I made scrambled eggs this morning because H was still on his bike ride and I think it might be the first time I’ve used the stove top in the 1 1/2 years we’ve been in the house! Embarrassing.</p>

<p>kmcmom- that is hilarious! Love the report.</p>